Kiosk exam availablity and COVID-19

[kpietras]

Dear Red Hat,

We did not receive any information regarding Exam Kiosk availability while the COVID-19 and restriction around that are in place.
In my country, the Red Hat Partners where kiosk exam resides are closing the offices due to government restrictions. 
Could you please confirm that you are developing some solution which will be extending the exams expiration period for the exam until the situation will be back to normal?
Or is there any plans to attend exams from home?

I know this is a difficult time for many of us.
Please care for each other and our communities when it counts. 
Stay safe and healthy.

[Deanna]

Hi @Autran - now is a great time to continue preparing for the RHCE for RHEL7.

As noted in these Terms & Conditions, the most recent statement from the Red Hat Training & Certification states:

"For Any Red Hat Certification Expiring Between March 26, 2020 and September 30, 2020, Red Hat Will Extend the Expiration Date Until October 1, 2020 – Terms and Conditions

• This offer applies to all active Red Hat certifications that have an expiration date between March 26, 2020 and September 30, 2020."

Please continue to prepare for you exam, if you have further questions you can reach out to the Red Hat Certification team here. 

Good luck!

Deanna 

[Autran]

Hi Danna,

Thank's for your message and your effort to help all professionals here I really appreciate that!

But I have to say, for me is still not clear, cause at the page who shows information about RHCE (EX300) says : "The exam based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 is available via individual exams until July 1, 2020." 

So why that information about extension is not there?  As I undestood that extension applies  to all who already posses some certification who will expire between the dates mentioned.

[Deanna]

@Autran no problem at all - we are always happy to help! I believe you are looking at the purchase page on redhat.com - the July 1 date is referring to the purchase expiration date - not the date you sit for the exam. 

As long as you have already purchased the exam, you should be clear to sit for it for up to a year after the purchase date or up until October 1, 2020. 

[Autran]

Thank you Again!

Now I understand well, thanks a lot for your help!

Have a nice day,

Autran

[herbertx]

Wait a minute.  Redhat explanations are incredibly unclear and confusing.  I was planning on taking a kiosk RHCE7 exam -  EX300 for Redhat7 in March but had to cancel because of Covid19.   Redhat's website at the time said exam availability for kiosk ex300 expires on August 1  2020.   So now kiosk exam availability for ex300 expires on July 1  2020?    I haven't paid for it yet because everything is shutdown.   So what really are my options for paying for and taking kiosk type ex300 RHCE7 exam?  I have until when to do this exactly?  What if I fail my first attempt and want to retake before ex300 kiosk exam expires?  I live in Brazil and there is only 1 place to take kiosk type exam.

[Deanna]

Hi @herbertx ,

Congratulations on pursuing the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) credential. There have recently been changes to key dates for purchasing and enrolling in Red Hat Certification exams, due to the currents events of covid-19, apologies for any confusion this may have caused. 

For EX300 based on RHEL 7, you have until July 30 to purchase the individual exam - then you will have a year from the purchase date to take the exam.

You can check out these Tips for passing Red Hat Certification exams authored by our Director of Red Hat Certification, Randy Russell. Good luck as your prepare for EX300!

[herbertx]

Ok so I'll buy the exam before July 30th.  Let's imagine I am only ale to schedule the exam sometime in August.  Lets say I take the exam on Aug 15 and find out a few days later that I didn't pass.  Can I retake the exam having paid for only 1 exam before July 30th? Or since it's past the buy date am I locked out forever from retaking the exam?

[Goro]

Also one concern about the remaining of us who prepared for taking this
exam but dont have any exam centers in their countries and who are forced
to travel for the purpose even though airports are still closed. Why doesnt
Redhat extend the dates for this exam??

[Travis]

@Goro-

I can't answer the exam date extension with certainty, but I can provide some additional information for the issue about access to the exams. Red Hat is looking at delivering exams remotely (meaning at home deliveries) and not requiring a kiosk at an exam center.

https://servicesblog.redhat.com/2020/05/15/first-look-at-red-hat-remote-certification-exams/

The blog post doesn't specifically deal with RHEL7 certification and from the initial listed exams, it would appear to focus on RHCSA/RHCE RHEL8 and OCP certifications.

[Goro]

Thx for your reply and hopefully ex300 will be added to that list